The votes are in, and this month our theme is wings and appetizers. So take your pick - from ABTs to satays to anything else you can think of, let's see what you've got! This month is truly wide open, so be sure to check out Steven's books as well if you need some really great ideas.

Let the October Block Party begin - let's see your starters!

Unlike propane, you'll never wake up scorched and naked in another county because you mishandled a bag of briquettes.

Appetizer ideas. Going to an Oktoberfest Party and need to bring appetizers. Last year I made Fatties. This is a big get together (121 invites on Facebook not including family members of those invited). The apps don't need to feed everybody. Here is the invite

Please join us in celebrating Oktoberfest. We ask that everyone bring a different kind of beer to share at least a 12 pack per person that way there is plenty to sample. We have plenty of coolers to load you beer into. This has to be something that you do not normally drink. There are lots of seasonal beers out there, please be creative. We also ask that everyone bring an appetizer.

Great pleasure to grill some hot wings once again. My goodness though, how expensive these little charms have become.

This time, I went with my brother's preferred recipe-- hitting them with seasoned salt, ground red pepper, and red wine vinegar. First though, I water/vinegar salt solution flavor brined them. Onto the grill they go:

The skin crisped nicely, and I even got some nice charring on some pieces.

I kind of let them rest indirectly for a short bit, while I added some nice mesquite smoke into the mix. Then I gave them a final spray with the red wine vinegar:

Time to plate. This better be as enjoyable as Alaskan king crab.

A closer inspection:

For fun, I lined them up on a platter like the San Diego Chargers. Looks to me like Rivers is going to sneak a pass to Antonio Gates for a significant gain. The opposition is represented by cream cheese stuffed celery stalks. Silly perhaps, but they did taste silly good.

beercuer - Nice job on the wings! Need to line them up in a different formation though. Talking to my Dad tonight about the price of bacon and chicken wings. Both used to be "throw aways" - Now their just about the most expensive part of the pig and the chicken.

beercuer - Nice job on the wings! Need to line them up in a different formation though. Talking to my Dad tonight about the price of bacon and chicken wings. Both used to be "throw aways" - Now their just about the most expensive part of the pig and the chicken.

Thank you for the kind words, Cactus! What kind of formation? I also remember when fish and lobster were rather inexpensive as well. In fact, I understand that lobster was once used as fertilizer!

Nice way to kick off the party, BC! I like the idea of the vinegar spritz to add some brightness and a little bit of pucker, but I think you'd get better results with a Fouts-to-Winslow connection.

Thank you for the vote of confidence, Brad! That recipe was inspired by how my brother and I used to drizzle a Louisiana style hot sauce on our roasted chicken, which is pretty much a cayenne pepper/vinegar mix, as you know. I have enough wings left for another batch. I look to go with a different recipe for the next one, using either a hot-doctored bbq sauce or teriyaki glaze.

Ah,... the good ol' days. Wasn't that about the same time as "Refrigerator" Perry played for the Bears? Talk about a mountain of a man-- That was like having 12 men on the field!

A couple weeks ago, I did some regular smoked hot wings (and ribs) and I'm proud to say that after quite a few less than satisfying attempts at smoked wings, I finally nailed it. May have to do those again this weekend.

Got a shoulder on the smoker now for some "BBQ nachos." Will those count as an appetizer? Because I'm eating them as a meal!

A bbq is only PARTLY about the food. It's MOSTLY about getting together and hanging out in the backyard with friends.

beercuer - Nice job on the wings! Need to line them up in a different formation though. Talking to my Dad tonight about the price of bacon and chicken wings. Both used to be "throw aways" - Now their just about the most expensive part of the pig and the chicken.

Thank you for the kind words, Cactus! What kind of formation? I also remember when fish and lobster were rather inexpensive as well. In fact, I understand that lobster was once used as fertilizer!

Like the unbalanced line right but need to ... Oh, never mind ... Just eat them and enjoy them, although I'm sure that batch is long gone.Fish has gone up but I get some good prices from time to time - guess I've gotten used to $7 or $8 lb. for a nice piece of fish is being reasonable (wild caught steelhead a few weeks ago). Don't ever remember lobster being reasonable in the Midwest. I've been getting 5 oz. rock tails for $3.99 per - think they come from Australia or New Zealand. They taste pretty good on the grill. Wife's cousin lives right on the Atlantic near Machias, Maine. I'm still waiting for a full lobster pot to find it's way to my house. Grouper and blue crab used to be cheap in Florida. Last time, a few years ago, grouper had gotten fairly expensive and almost had to take out a 2nd mortgage for a crab cocktail.